All roads lead to Stamford Bridge. Roads which, as it pertains to the modern rivalry between the two, have been winding for well over a decade. Once more Liverpool travel to Chelsea; once more, with a particular Portuguese manager in the dugout, it means more than three points.

As teeth-grittingly myopic as it is, Mourinho’s Chelsea versus Liverpool ultimately becomes Mourinho versus Liverpool. Their most famous battles have come with the 52-year-old as manager of the London side. Liverpool’s highs have been higher, and lows have been lower, because of his presence on the opposition bench.

Through fate or circumstance, Liverpool and Mourinho meet at times when it matters most. Champions League semi-finals, FA Cup semi-finals, title deciders.

So it is on Saturday, too. Or, at least, so it could be in theory. Reports suggest defeat to Liverpool would signal the end of Mourinho, who has overseen one of the worst starts to a title-defending Premier League campaign. With just three wins and 11 points from 10 games – plus a League Cup exit to Stoke – the pressure is building on the Portuguese boss.

The veracity of the claims about Mourinho’s future is unknown. What is known, however, is the importance of it to Liverpool.

Two weeks after first taking charge of his new side, Jurgen Klopp faces his first big game as Reds boss. That is not to disparage Tottenham and Southampton, or Rubin Kazan and Bournemouth. But in the modern game, there are fewer games as big for Liverpool than Chelsea.

A modern rivalry

That, in part, is because of Mourinho and the battle waged with Rafael Benitez. Lines were drawn in the sand, different ideologies were established. In a classic case of ‘us versus them’, Benitez represented one side, Mourinho the other.

Those games – 16 in a two-and-a-half-year period – were epic. Cups were won and lost, dislike and discord intensified. Once Mourinho left in 2007, the games would continue, and the importance would remain – but Avram Grant and Guus Hiddink, to name but two, did not rankle as Mourinho did.

Back he came in 2013, this time as a rival domestically, rather than in Europe. The heart had not grown fonder in his absence.

Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool would finish above Chelsea in Mourinho’s first season back, but it was he and Chelsea who would laugh loudest, Demba Ba profiting on Steven Gerrard’s slip - and t-shirt sellers outside Stamford Bridge profiting on Liverpool’s misfortune forever.

Liverpool FC V Chelsea FC in the Barclays Premeir League at Anfield Stadium 270414. Demba Ba makes it 1-0 for Chelsea after a mistake by Steven Gerrard. Pic Andrew Teebay.

Klopp walks into this on Saturday. He will, no doubt, know about the rivalries with Everton and Manchester United, but Liverpool’s relationship with Chelsea is very much a modern malcontent. There is a lot of history in such a short period of time – accepting, of course, that this was a rivalry that stems back as far as 1965 when the Reds knocked them out of the FA Cup semi-final at Villa Park.

Liverpool fans will want to win on Saturday because it is Liverpool, because it is Klopp, because it is Klopp’s Liverpool. Klopp will want to win because it is three points, a first league win, and a big blow to a divisional rival.

The current situation surrounding Mourinho makes it even more intriguing. If the result is inconsequential, how Liverpool fans would delight in cranking up the pressure a little more.

If the Chelsea boss’ job hangs in the balance, how Liverpool fans would delight in tipping it over the edge after all that has happened before them.

All roads lead to Stamford Bridge. Liverpool will hope this is the end of the road for Jose Mourinho.

A POTTED HISTORY

Summer 2004: Liverpool are linked with a move for Jose Mourinho after the departure of Gerard Houllier. The Reds move for Rafael Benitez instead. Mourinho, who has just won the Champions League with Porto, joins Chelsea.

February 2005: Mourinho incites Liverpool fans by shushing them after Steven Gerrard scores an own goal in the League Cup final, which Chelsea win 3-2 in extra time.

May 2005: In one of Anfield’s most dramatic nights, the Reds beat Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final. Mourinho later insists Luis Garcia’s goal did not cross the line.

October 2005: Revenge is extracted, in part, by Chelsea when inflicting a heavy defeat upon Benitez’s Reds, their worst home defeat since December 1969.

April 2006: Chelsea are on the march to their first league and cup double, but Liverpool have other ideas, beating them in a brilliant semi-final at Old Trafford.

May 2007: Two years on, the pair meet in the semi-finals of the Champions League once more. This time, it goes to penalties – and Dirk Kuyt slots home the winning one to send Liverpool to Athens.

August 2007: Fernando Torres makes his home debut and scores a brilliant goal, but referee Rob Styles denies Liverpool a big win by awarding a contentious penalty. The game ends 1-1.

December 2013: Liverpool’s title challenge is dented by Mourinho’s side, but the Reds are incensed by Howard Webb’s decision to not award a penalty for Samuel Eto’o’s foul on Luis Suarez. Mourinho labels Suarez a diver.

April 2014: One of the worst moments Anfield has endured in years as Steven Gerrard’s slip helps Chelsea to a 2-0 win – and ultimately costs Liverpool the title.

January 2015: A bad-tempered League Cup semi-final boils over when Diego Costa stamps on Emre Can. Mourinho, whose side won in extra time, defends his striker.